A significant proportion of the conveyancing profession faced possible removal from the Santander conveyancing panel at the end of March 2013 unless their firms obtained accreditation under the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme.
Historical note: This article records a Santander panel issue raised in January 2013. It should not be treated as a statement of Santander’s current panel criteria. Borrowers should refer to our current guide to checking whether a solicitor is on the Santander conveyancing panel.
Anyone investigating an earlier transaction should instead read our guide to historical Santander conveyancing requirements. The requirements applying today may not reproduce those that applied on the relevant completion date.
At the time, a Santander spokesperson explained that the bank was committed to managing the risks associated with mortgage lending and regarded CQS as a means of maintaining customer choice and professional standards while addressing those risks.
The position raised a particular question for licensed conveyancers, who could not apply for CQS accreditation. If Santander permitted licensed conveyancers to remain on its panel without CQS, it was possible that some solicitors might consider practising through an alternative business structure, either directly or indirectly.
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